Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had a surprise appearance on this week’s episode of WWE show The Bump. Johnson provided a pre-recorded video, congratulating Triple H, who was celebrating his 25th anniversary in WWE.
Recording in his backyard, The Rock reflected on Triple H’s “epic, historic” career. He confessed he was honored to be able to send him a message to commemorate the occasion. “We are lucky boys to have had the career we have had in the world that we love so much in pro wrestling.”
The Rock shared how Triple H has been good to him from the start. He added that he could see the hunger in Triple H’s eyes and knew that they would be competitors. Johnson explained how “That’s exactly why we gelled together; why we had incredible chemistry.”
“There’s only one man that I’ve gone around the world with and wrestled consistently so many times, and put in just incredible matches, and that is you,” The Rock said. “And I thank you. I love you. Congratulations, man, on just such an amazing career.”
Rock then spoke about Triple H’s work away from the ring, calling it “unparalleled.” He pointed to his work with NXT and WWE and his commitment to making sure the fans are happy. He talked about how wrestling is in Triple H’s blood and DNA, noting how “it’s as if you were born in the business.”
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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is open to stepping in the ring against Roman Reigns. Johnson revealed the news during a recent live Q&A session he hosted on Instagram, where he has over 180 million followers.
The Rock spoke about how he believes anything is possible and that you can ‘never say never’ in the world of pro wrestling. In fact, he stated that he’s “always open” for a potential comeback match.
The Rock says you never say never to Vince McMahon. He enjoys a close personal relationship with the WWE Chairman. As The Rock has climbed the ranks of Hollywood, Vince has served as a business mentor to him. Their business relationship aside, The Rock considers Vince McMahon to be a “very, very close friend and confidant.”
He explained how you can never flat-out refuse an offer. Dwayne Johnson then stressed that, for it to happen, “the venue would have to be right.”
Dwayne Johnson On Needing The Right “Business Model”
Alongside the venue, Johnson joked about how the business model would have to be right, suggesting that as long as a matchup was the right decision for himself, Reigns, Vince McMahon and the pro wrestling industry, he’d be willing to explore the idea.
He then spoke about how close he is with Reigns, explaining how “he’s family to me, so we will see.”
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has named Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the “best promo guy that ever did it.” He made the declaration during a recent episode of his podcast, The Hall of Fame.
“There have been so many great promos,” Booker explained. “The Rock was the best promo guy that ever did it because he really knew how to capture the moment and when I say to capture the moment I mean he talked about the local area where we were, the stadium, where he went to eat, he took you on a story. When you do it like that you’re just standing in awe, man.”
He claimed that there will never be another Superstar on the same level as Johnson, pointing at his ability to improvise on the fly based on the audience reaction. Booker T also credited WWE writer Brian Gewirtz for helping Rock and himself in bringing their characters to life. He stressed that without Gewirtz, King Booker would never have worked.
Booker T explained how he often wasn’t comfortable with what he was expected to deliver, believing it would sound “stupid.” With Gewirtz coaching and help, however, he was able to embrace his character and deliver his lines with a little ad-libbing added in. He believes this guidance helped Johnson elevate his promo work as well.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would probably feature on a lot of fans’ Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling. But who would “The Great One” choose for his own personal monument?
B/R Wrestling pitched an open question to wrestling fans on Twitter, asking who might adorn their personal lists. They accompanied their initial tweet with an image featuring “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, The Rock, The Undertaker and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Johnson would later reply with his own list, based off the performers overall impact and drawing power during their prime. For him, that included Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Gorgeous George or Bruno Sammartino and Steve Austin.
“*I made an edit after thinking about the wrestling star’s impact and drawing power during their respective runs. Thanks for the carve out and always a cool debate. I’d go with/ Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Gorgeous George/Bruno Sammartino, Steve Austin ?? #WrestlingsMtRushmore”
*I made an edit after thinking about the wrestling star’s impact and drawing power during their respective runs. Thanks for the carve out and always a cool debate. I’d go with/ Hulk Hogan Ric Flair Gorgeous George/Bruno Sammartino Steve Austin ? #WrestlingsMtRushmorehttps://t.co/4nyQsoClXp
These lists are obviously subjective, but Johnson did take some time to respond to fan questions or comments after sharing. When one follower mentioned how Andre the Giant wasn’t getting any attention, Johnson replied, contrasting Andre with WWE Legend The Undertaker and noting that they “sit at a table for only two.”
John Cena was a recent guest on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. During their conversation, Cena spoke about his WWE feud with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. He also shared the advice he received from Johnson as he began to step away from the ring to ramp up his acting career.
“The Rock and I are most known for our tremendous WWE feud that broke WWE pay-per-view records, and we kind of talked a lot of trash about each other,” Cena confessed. “Now, we also had a follow-up match a year later. So we spent a year making fun of each other, and one night beating each other up, and then we’re like ‘Did we just become best friends? ‘Yep.’ So basically we were able to set aside our differences on that night. In the next year, I began to get more chances at opportunities.”
Sage Advice
Cena then reflected on doing a taped audition for the movie Trainwreck. Looking for advice, Cena turned to The Rock for his thoughts on how to best present himself for the audition.
“He gave me a piece of advice that still rings in my ears like he said it yesterday. I don’t even know if he knows this was such sage advice,” Cena said. “He just turned to me as smooth and casual as he does with everything he says, and in such an inspirational tone, as with everything he does, he was like, ‘Just be yourself, man. That’s why they asked you there in the first place.’ And that message of ‘always be authentically yourself’ has stuck with me, and created the opportunity I have. Thank you, The Rock.”
John Cena’s new movie, Playing with Fire, is released in theaters on November 8th.
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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has credited former WWE Superstar Ken Shamrock with helping to develop his character during the Attitude Era.
This comes off the back of Shamrock promoting his return to Impact Wrestling. He contended that he would tear through Moose, whom he is currently feuding with, before running his way through the promotion until getting to Impact Wrestling World Champion, Brian Cage.
Do you want to see me rip @TheMooseNation in half and then start my run through @IMPACTWRESTLING until I get to @MrGMSI_BCage and the World Title?
A Twitter user then shared his feelings on Shamrock’s run in WWE (then WWF) in the ’90s. He stated that people don’t understand how underrated “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” was as a wrestler. He claimed he was a “HUGE part of the attitude era” before listing The Rock, Vader, and Owen Hart as wresters Shamrock had great matches with.
Brian Cage would subsequently get involved after seeing the opinion, sharing that he agrees wholeheartedly:
“I agree. Shamrock all around was great. And jacked!”
This led to The Rock “co-signing” Cage’s sentiment, adding that “@ShamrockKen helped build “The Rock” character. Huge #AttitudeEra influence. We tore the houses down together. I’ll always be grateful and respectful. He’s a f machine. They don’t make em like that anymore. Thanks for the house brother Ken”
I’ll co-sign that. @ShamrockKen helped build “The Rock” character. Huge #AttitudeEra influence. We tore the houses down together. I’ll always be grateful and respectful. He’s a fucking machine. They don’t make em like that anymore. Thanks for the house brother Ken ???
Much like their recent RAW Reunion show, WWE is inviting a number of former Superstars, Hall of Famers, and Legends for SmackDown’s upcoming FOX debut. The show also coincicdes with SmackDown’s 20th Anniversary.
Kurt Angle, Lita, Booker T, Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, Trish Stratus, Jerry Lawler, Goldberg, Sting, Ric Flair, and Goldberg are just some of the names already announced.
But they aren’t the only people WWE are hoping will be in attendance.
WWE is still attempting to secure Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for the blue brand’s FOX debut, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
It’s reported that whether Dwayne Johnson appears or not all comes down to his schedule. WWE apparently reached out to him a while back in order to try and book him, but nothing was confirmed at the time. Unfortunately, that still seems to be the case.
Not content with his placement as the highest-paid actor in the history of Forbes’ Celebrity 100 list, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson continues to be the hardest working man in Hollywood.
Dwayne Johnson has partnered with Under Armour, releasing a new range that debuted today.
Entitled “Project Rock,” the collection is officially described by Johnson via the Under Armour website as, “[…] a movement of people willing to put in the work. What we work for is what we become. Finding strength in the struggle. Joy in the grind. Excitement in the challenge. Always recognizing that the project of ‘you’ is never finished. Because there is always more work to do. And together with Under Armour, we’ve designed this gear to work just as hard as you do.”
The Rock tweeted out this morning to his 12.9 million followers, mentioning that this was the “most anticipated collection of 2018.” He would go on to call the collaboration the “#AllDayHustleCollection,” before telling his fans to “Stay strong. Train hard. Enjoy the gear.”
His words accompanied a hype video for the product launch, which you can watch below:
– Dasha Fuentes will likely be off SmackDown LIVE for a while after suffering an Achilles tendon injury. She posted a photo of herself in the hospital today after undergoing surgery to repair the issue.
https://instagram.com/p/BmBYxZTFmvT/
– Alexa Bliss is among the celebrity guests at ACE Comic Con Midwest on Friday, October 12 at Chicago’s Navy Pier and the Raw Women’s Champion will be signing autographs and doing photo-ops. Visit AceUniverse.com for more information.
With films and other projects in the works, it seems Dwayne will be busy with Hollywood and The Rock won’t return back to the square circle anytime soon. It was rumored that he was Ronda Rousey tag team partner for Wrestlemania 34 but turned down the offer and Kurt became Rousey partner. More on that story here.
The Rock’s last Wrestlemania appearance was at Wrestlemania 29 where he dropped the title to John Cena and left the event with a torn abdominal muscle. Since then The Rock has made appearances during the grand event but hasn’t wrestled since his last injury.
Dwayne Johnson is currently scheduled to film Baywatch, Fast 8, then Rampage, and he has now added a fourth movie to his schedule. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Rock has signed on to film a sequel to last year’s hit San Andreas.
The sequel to San Andreas will focus on the “Ring of Fire” which “circles the Pacific Ocean with fault lines and volcanoes and, according to scientists, is home to about 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.” Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario and Paul Giamatti are also signed on to resume their roles in the sequel.
Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz was named Senior Vice President of Development for Seven Bucks Productions, the production company owned by Dwayne Johnson and his ex-wife Dany Garcia, who recently appeared on an episode of Total Divas as the new business manager of Eva Marie.
When Gewirtz left WWE back in July, it was reported that he would be taking on an executive role in Johnson’s company.
Gewirtz was the lead WWE writer for several years, but was taken off of the writing team back in 2013, although he would continue to remain with the company through a consultant role. He would be brought back to the writing team whenever Dwayne Johnson would return as The Rock for WWE appearances, because Johnson would often use him to help write his material.
Gewirtz’s new role in Johnson’s company will be to oversee television content development.
MTV.com recently spoke with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson about the new movie he will be starring in, which will be based on the old hit television series “Baywatch.”
Above is a video of the interview. Below are some of the highlights.
On hiring the right people to ensure the movie is of quality: “We’ve all taken great care, and steps, into making sure that we do it right. We hired really great writers. We have a really director on board, Seth Gordon… he’s got a great vision.”
On what type of film fans can expect: “We want to make a big movie — a fun beach movie. [We want to] bring the beach movie back to the world, but also have something that has edge and has badass action and really dirty, rated-R humor, which is right in my wheelhouse.”
On the casting for the film: “The casting of ’Baywatch’ has become such a thing. We’ve cast Zac Efron, and now this is the fun thing about it. Who’s going to play C.J.? I can’t tell you the amount of calls we’ve been getting from the most gorgeous actresses and models in the world, from their agents and managers. They all want to be C.J.”
WWE United States Champion John Cena recently spoke with FOX 411 to promote his role in the new Judd Apatow film, “Trainwreck.” Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On if he is the next Dwayne Johnson: “There is only one Dwayne Johnson. What Dwayne has done is absolutely fantastic. He had a vision when he was here at WWE. He promotes like a mad man. We’ll see how I do with John Cena before I can be mentioned in the company of Dwyane Johnson.”
On if it is odd to have his personal life open for public consumption on Total Divas: “It is weird. When they came to us with the concept of “Total Divas” it wasn’t so accepted around [the WWE]. Those girls who chose to put their lives are some of the bravest. I wanted nothing but success for her.”
On why he is so loyal to WWE: “There will be a time when I won’t be able to perform in the ring. I’m 38-years-old. So, if I’m not in the ring I want to be involved in some way. I love it! I watch every single match because I enjoy it. It’s been 12 or 13 years now, the audience is so exciting and electric. It keeps me coming back.”
On if he could face off against any wrestler, who would it be: “Past: Stone Cold Steve Austin because he was truly inspiration to me. Our audience wouldn’t mind seeing that. In the same breath there are some present stars that I haven’t faced off with. Hopefully, down the line I look forward to facing those new faces.”
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) has been tapped to star in the new DreamWorks project, “Alpha Squad Seven,” a new science-fiction comedy.
According to the report, the project is described as a four-quadrant action-comedy adventure set in space, similar in many ways to Guardians of the Galaxy, Adrmageddon and Independence Day.
The idea behind the move is for it to serve a two-hander, as well as become the launching point for a potential new movie franchise.
Work for the project began about two weeks ago and producers approached The Rock and his 7 Bucks Production company, which fast-tracked the development of the concept.
Producer Beau Flynn is one of the people heading up the project. Flynn worked in the past with The Rock in films such as “Journey 2,” “Hercules” and “San Andreas.”
The Rock’s ex-wife, Dany Garcia, who heads up the Garcia Companies, will serve as executive producer for the project, while Hiram Garcia will associate produce through Rock’s 7 Bucks Production company.
Multiple studios were apparently bidding on the movie, but in the end, it came down to DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures with DreamWorks pursuing a bit harder to secure the project.
The feeling within the film industry is that this could be another huge role for The Rock, as they are hoping it will become another top franchise for the proven movie star.
– The Thursday, April 30th edition of WWE SmackDown averaged 2.338 million viewers, down from the previous week’s show, which averaged 2.642 million viewers. This week’s number marks the lowest viewership that SmackDown has had since moving back to Thursday nights.
– Longtime WWE performer The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) is celebrating his 43rd birthday today. The Rock was born on May 2, 1972.
– WWE has released a clip from Mick Foley’s recent “Cheap Pops” live WWE Network special. In the following clip, Foley talks about his relationship with WWE Divas.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who hosted Saturday Night Live on Saturday night, took part in a pro wrestling skit during his appearance on the show.
Check out the above video to watch as The Rock plays an over-the-top wrestling character cutting a promo on another wrestler in a segment that features a WWE logo backdrop.
– Tickets to the public for this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, which takes place on August 23rd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, sold out immediately this morning. Virtually all of the tickets had arleady been sold via pre-sale before today.
– Part-time WWE performer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson landed a role as host of Saturday Night Live for the March 28th edition of the show, which is the Saturday before WrestleMania 31. The Rock tweeted the following about hosting SNL for the fourth time.
– While his return is still in question, Mark Henry has apparently lost a ton of weight since the last time fans have seen him on television. In the past when talking about losing weight, Henry would eventually get unhappy about losing strength along with the weight, and due to his “strongest man in the world” mentality, it would ultimately hinder his ability to keep the weight off.
– Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) recently noted that he expects the “Black Adam” character he is playing in the new “Shazam” movie to become a reoccuring role with several projects going forward with the character. Black Adam is a full-fledged heel in the upcoming “Shazam” film, but is expected to become a babyface character at some point in the future.
As noted last week, part-time WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was scheduled for an appearance on “Live with Kelly and Michael” where he was advertised to perform a “Christmas Karaoke SmackDown.”
Below are photos from the taping, which features The Rock in Christmas attire singing karaoke on the show.
– Following the announcement that he had signed with the UFC, former WWE Superstar CM Punk was the sixth most-searched term on the internet in the United States with over 100,000 searches. UFC was third in the U.S., also at over 100,000 searches.
– Part-time WWE Superstar The Rock will be appearing on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” this coming Thursday to promote his new reality show, “Wake Up Call,” which airs on TNT.
– There has been some talk among Hollywood circles that part-time WWE performer and Hollywood A-list actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is rumored to take over Mark Wahlberg’s role in the “Transformers” movie franchise. According to current rumors, Rock and Bruce Willis are being tagged as potential co-stars for the “Transformers 5” movie.
– Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:
November 20th in Tampa for NXT drew 225 fans
November 21st in Cocoa Beach for NXT drew 175 fans
November 24th in Indianapolis for RAW drew 9,000 fans
– WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels is the official spokesperson for “Smokey Mountain Chew, Inc.,” a brand of herbal chewing tobacco. A press release from Smokey Mountain Chew states –
“Having already been using Smokey Mountain Wintergreen Herbal Snuff, the Smokey Mountain and Shawn Michaels’ partnership is a natural fit. With a lifestyle dedicated to health and fitness, Michaels found Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff to be a great tobacco-free and nicotine free alternative to smokeless tobacco.
‘Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff has been a great product that I’ve incorporated into my life,” Michaels said. “As someone who has spent their life and career dedicated to staying healthy, as well as being cognizant of what I put in my body, Smokey Mountain fits into that category perfectly.’
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s new show “Wake Up Call” is scheduled to premiere on TNT on December 12th. The show is hosted and produced by The Rock and features him encouraging people to turn their lives around. While it is a reality show, there are no cash prizes and no one gets “voted off,” instead, Rock simply helps people who are down on their luck and need encouragement. The show will air every Friday night at 9pm.
On Monday’s edition of RAW, WWE legend The Rock made a shocking surprise return during an in-ring segment with Rusev and Lana.
As luck would have it, The Rock was already in New York City for non-WWE business reasons, as he was meeting with Time Warner executives. It appears as though WWE did not bring Rock in to NYC, so he legitimately was only there for his own business.
Additionally, The Rock was not listed in any early version of the script for Monday’s RAW, so it’s highly likely that his return just happened to be a case of perfect timing as far as WWE is concerned.
For those who missed the show, you can read a detailed recap of The Rock’s segment on the show by clicking here, and/or you can read a full, detailed report of the entire show by clicking here.
